Santee Lakes, CA to Yuma, AZ

From green grass and wildflowers to ocotillo, sand dunes, and desert.  All in the space of the 167 miles from Santee to Yuma. 

We took our time this morning hooking up and pulling out as we knew we had a short drive. We made time for Maggie to go see her friend David and give him lots of kisses before we left.  We got on the road about 10am.

The drive was a short one for us and an easy day for Roger - all interstate.  We hit construction east of El Centro, CA to the Imperial Dunes. One lane traffic but no workers as it is Saturday so it was just slow going but no problem.


We stopped for lunch at the top of the last high pass through the mountains before dropping into the Imperial Valley.  There's a casino on the Indian Reservation at the top of the mountain with lots of parking and we've stopped on other trips for a break.  We anticipated it being windy and chilly and it certainly was. Instead of opting to open up the RV for lunch we sat in the truck. Mistake. With the two of us, Maggie, and our lunch it was a bit cramped. At one point I filled Maggie's small water dish, set it in her bed on the console then promptly put my elbow in it as I reached around for the lunch sacks. Then I discovered, much to my dismay, that it spilled down in my seat and my butt was soaked.  I put what was left of the water on the floor - then kicked it over with my foot.  Shoulda gone inside the RV.  Oh, well.  Live and learn.

El Centro is in the Imperial Valley of California.  Think winter produce and where it comes from.  Most of the lettuce and other green stuff comes from here or Mexico. Since Mexico is only a few miles a way, there are a lot of people in the fields working hard.   El Centro has the distinction of being below sea level.  Note the sign just above the car denoting where sea level is.  

The Imperial Dunes are some pretty massive sand dunes (on Roger's side of the truck so I didn't get a photos of the dunes) and a destination for folks with dune buggies, ATVs, etc.  There's only dry camping and you can see that groups go together and "circle the wagons" just like in the old west.  Also note the black line behind through the dunes - that's the already built section of THE WALL separating the US from Mexico.  

We originally planned on staying in this park in Yuma two nights and then backtracking to Winterhaven, CA for two nights before moving eastward towards Tucson.  We passed the RV park where we had reservations.  OMG.  It was next to the highway and was dumpy.  We called and cancelled right away. It looks as if we can stay here for the extra two days.  No one was in the office when we arrived but the camp host said it probably was not an issue.  

We are staying in Blue Sky RV Resort on the eastern side of Yuma.  It's just off the frontage road to I-8, but we aren't hearing any traffic noise.  It is typical of over 55 communities in Arizona and is part park models and part RV sites.  The sites are fairly good size as it looks like that it is an old park and they have taken two back to back sites and made one pull through.  The RVs and motorhomes are getting so big now they had to accommodate.  We did a quick walk around before dinner and it isn't a bad place.  You can tell, though, that the regulars are probably pretty established in their little cliques.  A good portion of the license plates we saw are from Canada.  We learned last time we were here that the second largest city in Canada in the winter is Yuma, AZ!!


The sites are gravel with cement patios (because we are in a double site we have two cement patios, woohoo), reasonably located utilities and some trees. The trees actually have leaves on them - the ones in Santee had not started leafing out yet. Roger said he's never before encountered a sewer connection too close for the length of his hose.  He had to lay it out in serpentine fashion to get it hooked up.  Usually he's stretching it to the max to reach a long distance sewer connection.  


Our plan is to spend the next three days checking out the RV parks here in Yuma to see if there are any we might want to spend a month next year visiting. We spent two weeks here a couple of years ago and I think we could find enough to keep occupied for a month.  There's always the famous Yuma flea market and a visit to the Yuma Territorial Prison (think 3:10 to Yuma)!!  We also know of a great pizza place.   Other than the warm weather, though, there's not a lot going for it.  A lot of people stay here so they can go to the dentists and doctors just across the border in Algodones, Mexico.  

Temperatures this afternoon were in the mid 70s with a breeze and overcast sky.  It's supposed to warm up during next week. Lows in the mid 50s are expected instead of the 40 degrees we were waking up to in Santee.   

It's dark and it's time to close up the RV windows.  Maggs is crashed on the couch. She was such a good dog today.  We gave her 1/2 of her pill for anxiety and she was pretty laid back all day.  She had some moments when she wanted in my lap, but for the most part she did very well and just kinda zoned out.